Crushing blow for Spurs as King ruled out until November

Tottenham and England defender Ledley King has suffered a fresh setback in his bid to return from a knee injury and is now unlikely to play before November.

It was hoped King, who had an operation on a knee problem in the summer, would be back in a few weeks but he is struggling to get back to full fitness.

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The England international has been sorely missed by Martin Jol's side, who conceded sloppy goals in the 3-3 draw at Fulham on Saturday, costing them the chance of a much-needed victory.

But King is not expected to make his return soon and a club insider said: "He is struggling quite badly. No one knows when he will return and the date keeps getting put back.

"It's a big blow because he's the best defender we've got and we miss his leadership on the field. It is just too easy to score against us at the moment."

King has suffered a number of injury problems over the last few years and played only 27 of Tottenham's 59 games last season.

He missed out on a place in England's World Cup squad in 2006 due to a broken metatarsal before suffering injuries to a knee and both feet during the Premier League campaign.

There are fears the 26-year-old will be unable to play a full season again due to his fitness problems.

The news is also not good for England coach Steve McClaren, who has had to call up inexperienced Everton defender Joleon Lescott for the European Championship qualifiers against Israel and Russia due to a lack of central defenders.

Liverpool's Jamie Carragher has quit internat ional football, Jonathan Woodgate, of Middlesbrough, continues to be injury-prone and Portmouth's former Arsenal defender Sol Campbell has had to withdraw through injury again to leave McClaren short of options.

King, who played against Brazil and Estonia in the summer, would have been in the squad if fit. McClaren was hoping he would be back next month and available for the final four qualifiers, but he is not expected to be able to help England reach the finals.

Meanwhile, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has escaped from the scrutiny of the club's bad start to the season by flying to Spain for a short break.

It is not expected to be as controversial as his last visit to the Iberian peninsula last month when he was in the country at the same time club officials met Sevilla coach Juande Ramos.

There was better news for Jol as he watched another of his England centre-backs, Michael Dawson, continue his comeback from an ankle injury in the reserves last night.